


Resolutions

by keitaiijima



Series: Junior High Moments [14]
Category: Battle Royale - All Media Types, Battle Royale - Takami Koushun
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-14
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-12 11:28:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28759593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keitaiijima/pseuds/keitaiijima
Summary: Yuka presents her friends with a challenge about what their New Years resolutions for the upcoming semester should be. Or at least for however long they last.
Series: Junior High Moments [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2059632
Comments: 3
Kudos: 3





	Resolutions

**Author's Note:**

> It was kind of fun writing the girls as "ooc" but still also trying to keep it ic. I don't know, hopefully it makes sense when you read it. Point is, I had fun! 
> 
> Note: This is part of a non-linear series all set in the same universe but can also be definitely read independently. It only really has one very tiny and insignifcant call-back to the series itself.

To celebrate the last weekend of Winter break, Yuka had invited all her friends over to her place. She had promised them pizza and a movie, which sounded like the perfect end to a quiet and peaceful holiday for all of them. However, Yuka had also assured her friends that the movie they would watch was indeed a romantic comedy (hey, a couple does get naked together in the shower, which is kind of romantic, and faces exploding can be pretty funny, right?). As of now, several of them were feeling straight-out betrayed thanks to the horror she made them witness. Maybe they should have realized where it was headed when the titlescreen read "Final Blood Shed part 8: This time it's really final!", but alas, they chose to believe in her. Big mistake.

Izumi and Chisato finally emerged up from behind a sofa cushion they had shared between them, feeling safe now that the end credits were playing.  
"We'll never trust you again, Yuka!" Chisato cried, throwing the cushion at their host with what power she could muster.   
Yuka simply laughed as she hit away the cushion, knowing this would all be forgiven when she brought up the snacks bowl in minute.  
"Yes. What part of that was supposed to be romantic?" Izumi complained too, pouting at her friend.  
"The main characters find love!" Yuka argued. What a tough crowd they were!  
"Yes, for like two seconds before she gets impaled -"  
"- Oh yeaah, she suuure did -"  
"-Ew, no! By the spear! Through her eye? That is so grotesque!"

Yukie had to eventually speak up to calm the situation.  
"There now, girls... Yuka probably had good intentions?" she said, ever the perfect negotiator. Yukie wasn't a big fan of horror either, but at least she managed to keep her cool a little better than Izumi, Chisato and Noriko, who all had spent the majority of the movie not looking at all. Satomi and Haruka didn't mind one bit, both at times seemingly finding it entertaining along with Yuka. How someone could look at blood and gore without batting an eye was a mystery to half the group, though.

"To be fair to the sissies," Haruka teased lovingly. "Yuka did promise not to do this again after Zombie-gate."  
"We need to be prepared! I keep telling you!" Yuka defended herself, sighing. "I'm just doing my duties as your bestie!"  
"To make this fair, Yuka is not allowed to pick another movie for... Six months. Does that sound okay?" Yukie pleaded, causing a small uproar of the scared girls insisting Yuka NEVER picks the movie again, and Yuka claiming this punishment is way too hard. To appease them, she got out more chocolate and poured it into the bowl centred at the middle of the table. Sweetooths Izumi and Chisato got distracted and Yuka noted that they would forget about this within next movie night, for sure. Noriko wasn't as easily persuaded, but she would get there.

The topic quickly changed from the girl’s complaints onto the coming Monday, when they would all return to school.   
"Finally, I am ready for our last semester ever," Satomi said with a small smile. "We will have to really give it our all."  
"Oh, for sure!" Yukie agreed happily. "I have already planned out our schedules for the year. With the final exams coming up, we need to work harder than ever. And I have so many notes on preparing for the start of High School..."  
"So our fun really ends right away?" Chisato sighed, not ready for the break to be over.  
"It looks like it," Noriko smiled slightly. "Knowing Hayashida-sensei though, I'm sure he will have something really special planned for us when we do graduate. So there is that to look forward to, at least."

They all took a moment to really let it sink in that they would be moving on from Junior High into High School later that spring. It still felt surreal and a little bittersweet. The odds of them all staying in the same class wasn't high, which was something they all were dreading a little.

"Girls! Fear not, because I have a brilliant idea on how to spice up our first week back to school!" Yuka suddenly declared brightly, clearly wishing to lift the mood a little. No one was allowed to be down around her, and certainly not while they were still technically on a break.  
"You know, I didn't fear anything before you said that," Satomi replied, both her tone and facial expression revealing her scepticism.   
Yuka waved her concerns away, laughing. "No, you'll love it. It's a competition."  
  
"Oh," Yukie clapped her hands together. "I hope it's not one that will get ugly. Some healthy competition is good for us all though."  
"Not so good for you guys; I'm gonna win whatever it is!" Haruka grinned, her competitive side usually reserved for volleyball competitions now shining through. "Bring it, Yuka!"  
"Great, some enthusiasm. We love to see it!" Yuka chuckled, giving Haruka a salute. "It's kind of some New Years resolutions but... Like... Not really."  
  
The others naturally looked pretty confused as this initial vague explanation.  
"Right... So, what is it?" Izumi asked, not sure she would want to know.  
"So, obviously, we all got our strengths and weaknesses, right? Or like, some traits that we'd all agree is really defining to the person?" Yuka tried to continue explaining, now getting at least a few nods of understanding out of the group. "So for our New Years resolution, I think it'd be pretty funny if we got to not do that one thing, or be like, the opposite. So like me, I'm clearly hilarious and the funniest one in this whole town, so I won't be allowed to tell a joke. Not in any way! No pun, no funny comeback, nothing! Instead, I have to be like... giving serious advice or stuff like that. Do you get what I mean?"

The girls listened to her explain, all seemingly understanding what she was saying.  
"But how will you not being funny be... funny? This sounds like a horrible week back!" Chisato commented, laughing slightly.   
"Thanks, Chi. But think about it... We'll get another funny, super enthusiastic member of our group. Well, Satomi, of course!" Yuka winked, causing all the girls to laugh at the very idea of Satomi and Yuka swapping their designated roles within the group. All of them but Satomi.  
"I don't think I can tell the kinds of jokes you do," she replied thoughtfully. "Our humour is so different."  
"It doesn't have to be like me," Yuka quickly cleared up. "I want you to be yourself but like, as if you have just eaten all the candy at a kids birthday party and you just can't be stopped. All energy and pep, no serious, boring stuff."  
Satomi looked even more sceptical than she did initially.  
"Oh, so for my final semester, you want me to throw all my hard work out of the window to play a game? How realistic," she huffed.   
Yuka laughed again, far from deterred.  
"You can still study and work in class, obviously. This will just be when interacting with us and others, like in the hallway or when we hang out!"  
  
"It sounds pretty fun," Izumi joined in before Satomi could protest again. "But what about the rest of us? Some of you are easy but I don't think all of us can be placed into categories like "funny" and... uhm... Satomi," she said, smiling sheepishly as Satomi looked at her with eyes that dared her to say something more.  
"Yukie's is pretty obvious too," Haruka said, nudging her friend teasingly. Yukie looked back at her with round eyes.  
"Oh? Is it?"  
"Yes!" They all exclaimed in unison.  
"You're the leader, right?" Noriko explained. "You always do a great job taking charge of a situation and making sure everything goes smoothly, for projects or events or -"  
"- Basically, you run the show," Yuka interrupted, humming. Yukie looked like she wasn't sure whether she should be insulted or not, as she crossed her arms.  
"Is that a bad thing?" she asked uncertainly.  
"No, we love not doing anything," Haruka quickly told her, concerned they had offended her. "But it would be sort of great to see you just... Let go."  
"Yukie letting go of control and just... Following whatever we decide?" Chisato asked, chewing on this for a second. Then she broke into an almost mischievous smile. "That could end terribly!"  
"I'm not happy about this," Yukie mumbled, clearly already concerned about what this would entail for both her and the group as a whole. "But... As the new, casual, and laidback me, I will go with the group decision and accept!"

"Amazing!" Yuka said, fully knowing that when Satomi and Yukie had accepted, the rest would be no trouble at all. "Okay, Miss Izumi, for you... I think I want to take all your peppiness and enthusiasm and turn you into more of a downer."  
"Oh, great," Izumi laughed sarcastically. "I'm not that peppy, am I?"   
Sometimes she worried her friends thought she spaced out into her own world a little too much, but if this was how Yuka saw her, then maybe not.  
"Come on, Izu. You get hyped over every little thing! I saw you find a cookie on your desk and almost cry of happiness," Haruka teased her, causing Izumi's cheeks to turn a deep pink colour.  
"Well, I do understand the joy from that," Yuka had to admit, chuckling. "But point proven!"  
"Fine, I suppose I will be the Satomi of the group for... How long are we talking?" Izumi sighed.  
"Until only one of us haven't broken character!" Yuka said with a little nod. "Last woman standing!"

"Well... What about me?" Chisato asked reluctantly, scared of what she would get told.  
"You're too timid, Chisato. You need to believe in yourself more!" Haruka told her straight away, providing Yuka with a lot of support as she seemed to get into the idea of this game more and more.  
"Totally. You're too quiet and reserved so... You have to be loud! And straight-forward! I want to see you march over to Mimura and tell him to take his shirt off, right then and there!" Yuka added, making Chisato turn even redder than Izumi had a second ago.  
"W-what?!" she asked in horror, and Haruka's enthusiasm for the game seemed to decrease greatly too.  
"Please no. That boy would actually do it," she cringed.   
"That wouldn't be the worst thing, would it?" Yukie hummed, to which Haruka just quietly shrugged and avoided eye-contact.  
"You don't have to say that exactly, but you get the idea," Yuka told Chisato as she patted her head. Chisato still looked horrified at the prospect of having to embarrass herself in any way but nodded slowly.

"Now, Noriko," Yuka continued, and Noriko gulped. "You are always so kind and open to everyone...- "  
"- You want her to kill someone," Satomi jumped straight to the end of the explanation without any hesitation. "Thrilling."  
Laughing, Yuka shook her head as Noriko paled.   
"Not that harsh! But I do want to see you be a bit snarky, sarcastic... Yeah, a little bit mean!"  
Noriko shook her head in return. "I-I can't do that, Yuka! I mean, everyone else doesn't know about these resolutions, so if I just start being mean, I could really hurt someone's feelings! I'd... I'd be like a bully!"   
"Noriko is right, being mean to others should be off-limit," Yukie agreed.   
"She could be mean to only us?" Izumi suggested uncertainly. "At least we know why, and we could all get to see that snarky side Yuka is so eager to pull out."  
"Perfect," Yuka agreed before Noriko had a chance to protest.   
"You realize this means she can't bring us cookies?" Satomi reminded her, and Yuka quickly looked like she regretted this whole idea.  
"Well, I'm not sure how long I will be able to stick to this... You might get cookies by the end of the first day!" Noriko laughed softly, reassuring them.

"That leaves you, Haruka," Satomi said, now with a small smile. "You've sounded pretty into this. I hope the thing you get is pure torture."  
The others laughed at the dramatics of this statement, although Haruka's laugh was a little forced, clearly worried with what Yuka could come up with.  
"You're so sporty and kind of... Not boyish, but you know, you're not exactly super girly either," Yuka said, tapping her chin as she thought hard. "I got it! You have to wear your prettiest lip gloss and be a total girl and... A total flirt! Make those boys all swoon over you!"  
The image was almost as weird as a joking Satomi, and the others couldn't hold back another laugh.  
  
Haruka groaned loudly.  
"All the boys in our class are disgusting. I hate this," she muttered, although knowing her fate was sealed. After all, she had encouraged everyone else's demise, so she couldn't count on much support right now. "Fine!"  
"I'm so excited," Yuka beamed, looking like she might be the only one there who was. "And I can't wait to see who's the last one standing! May the best woman win!"  
"What do we even win?" Satomi asked, as the others realized they had forgotten to ask that very question.  
"How about honour and pride and -"  
"- No, Yuka! If we're going to embarrass ourselves, we want something good!" Chisato whined.  
"Okay, okay. Winner gets to use the rest of us as personal slaves for a week?"  
"Make it two," Haruka huffed. "And we got a deal."  
The girls all reached their hands out, placing them on top of each other's as they agreed to the terms.  
All of them already feeling like this was a big mistake.

* * *

It was with mixed feelings the girls went back to school that Monday.  
Mixed feelings was probably a bit strong; more accurately, most of them were feeling slight panic and a lot of anxiety. Except for Yuka, who was purely excited to see how this would all turn out.

The first challenge presented itself already when they were waiting outside their classroom for Mr. Hayashida to arrive and let them in. All of their fellow students were naturally there too, and the girls found themselves close to the group of jocks in their class.  
Satomi gave Haruka a little nudge, followed by a teasing smile.  
"Oh, Haruuu," she said in a voice several pitches higher than they had ever heard it before. "Why don't you go over to the jocks and tell Niida how good he looks this year? Better start that flirting right away, don't you think?"

Satomi did a little bounce as she said this, really hitting home the enthusiasm of it all.  
"Yeah, Haruka, you have to!" Chisato all but yelled. "That's what I would do! Just go straight over and tell him how you feel! Be brave!"  
Chisato's loud voice had caught the attention of some of the others around them, and they could already hear Yumiko and Yukiko whisper about who Haruka's new crush might be.  
Haruka herself looked about ready to throw in the towel.  
"Niida? Really?" she mumbled through gritted teeth.   
"She's right. He's waay out of her league," Noriko sighed. "She... She will make a total fool out of herselves!"

For a moment the girls had forgotten Noriko's new personality trait of meanness and all stared at her with mouths hanging open. When it finally clicked, they all burst out laughing.  
"This is surreal. Anyway, Serious Yuka Nakagawa encourage you to go flirt right now. Unless you want to end up as Normal Yuka Nakagawa's slave by the end of this...- "

"- And you do not!" Yukie reminded her with a small laugh.

Debating this for a second, Haruka finally nodded.  
"Fine. But not Niida, for God's sake. At least let me go for Oki or Hatagami, you know, someone not as gross."  
Yuka quietly hoped Haruka would not try to hit on Tadakatsu. As he was her childhood friend, she wasn't sure she would be able to hold back any jokes about it. Especially considering his reaction would probably be priceless too.  
"Whichever one takes the bait, I suppose," Izumi said with a shrug of her shoulders, trying her best to hold back any signs of excitement for this moment.  
"And I think you should go for whoever everyone else says!" Yukie said seriously, nodding. "Anyone would be crazy to turn you down, anyway!"

Haruka turned a little red at this, waving the compliment off as she seemingly made up her mind. With determined steps, she walked towards the group of guys.  
Having never flirted before in her life, she didn't really have much of an idea on how to do it. She cleared her throat awkwardly, getting the attention of all of them.  
"Hey, Tanizawa!" Oki greeted her cheerfully. He had always struck her as the kindest of them all, so he might be the safest option right now.  
"Hii, Oki-kun," Haruka greeted back, leaning against the wall as she looked at him. Due to being one of the tallest girls in class, she didn't really look up at him. They were already kind of at eye-level. "How was your break?"  
As she spoke, she attempted to twirl some locks of her short hair between her fingers, but was unable to really get a hold of any.

The rest of the boys seemed stunned by her behaviour. Niida and Kuramoto were struggling to hold back a laugh, which made her blush for real and want to sink down into the floor. Hatagami squinted at her, clearly suspicious.  
"What are you doing? What are you doing with your hair?" he asked in a gruff voice.  
"What! I'm just talking to Oki-kun! That's not a crime," Haruka replied defensively. It's not like she wanted to be there.   
"Damn, maybe we should give you some privacy? Or you could take five minutes to sneak away into an empty room?" Niida joked, snickering. Kuramoto added:  
"Sounds like plenty of time for Tatsu, hah!"

Oki looked from Haruka to his friends, clearly confused as to what they really meant, as Hatagami hushed the two others.  
This is not worth it. Talking to guys is not worth it.  
Haruka quickly straightened herself from how she had leaned against the wall, face now bright red.  
"You know what? No! _Forget it_! I can't!" she cried out, causing the boys even more confusion as she stormed off back to her own friends.  
"Dammit, man. You missed a chance to get laid now! Maybe next year?" she heard Niida tease Oki just as she rejoined her own group.

"So... That was, uhm..." Yukie began talking, before glancing at her friends for someone else to speak up first. She was supposed to be a follower after all; she shouldn't jump to the word like that.  
"What a failure," Noriko sighed, shaking her head with a put-on expression of disappointment. Inside it was of course killing her to not comfort Haruka after an experience like this with the boys.  
"I'm sorry, Haruka," Izumi said flatly.   
"Oh, but no one noticed anyway, so don't worry! No one except our whole class, of course!" Satomi beamed, squeezing Haruka's shoulder gently. "You did _soooo_ good!"

Rolling her eyes, Haruka wasn't sure where to look. Definitely not at the jocks.  
"Whatever you guys. I'm out. It's really not worth having to talk to... them. I'd rather be your slave any day."  
"That's the spirit!" Satomi agreed joyfully. "I will treat you all super duper well when I'm in charge!"

The girls didn't have any chance to protest Satomi's early declaration of victory before Mr. Hayashida showed up and let them all in. They could hear Niida and Kuramoto still laughing quietly about what had just happened, but Haruka did her best to shut it out. At least she wouldn't have to attempt to flirt with a guy ever again.

Izumi and Yuka sat down at their desks near the front of the classroom.  
"Psst, Izu," Yuka whispered when Hayashida started welcoming them back for the new year. "You know we can't let Satomi win this! She and Yukie needs to be the first ones we take out. Can you imagine them bossing us around?"  
"More than they already do?" Izumi joked dryly, having to keep from laughing at her own comment. "Well, Yukie will probably crack quickly. Satomi on the other hand... Being enthusiastic is so easy. Being dull like this? That is hard, “ she whispered in a monotone voice, sighing a little after.

"Yes, but Satomi probably feels the same way, right? We just have to keep suggesting the most ridiculous things to her and eventually, she can't even pretend to be on board! Except I can't do it all the time, I'm worried it might count as joking," Yuka continued in a hushed voice.  
"Won't be suggesting ridiculous activities count as enthusiasm?" Izumi mumbled back, keeping her eyes on Mr. Hayashida to make sure he wasn't watching them whisper. "We'll think of something. As for Yukie, you know -  
"- Oh, I know," Yuka confirmed without Izumi having to say anything. "I've already thought about that, don't you worry."

"I've almost filled out my notebook. I need to get a new one out of my locker next break. Oh! It's my new, pink - " Izumi cut herself off, as Yuka eyed her cautiously. "I mean. I'm not excited about it. It's whatever."  
"You're dead meat too," Yuka muttered, and Izumi silently agreed. If a cute notebook was enough to almost tip her over the edge, she didn't really stand a chance.

At the first chance she had during the break between classes, Izumi hurried to retrieve a new notebook from her locker. It was lucky she had an extra there, or else her whole day would have turned out to be quite unproductive. Well, her friends would probably have let her borrow some paper from them, but she liked the pink and glittery one a lot more. The cuteness was inspiring to her.  
Sliding the pink book into her purse, she closed the door and turned to start her walk back to her friends waiting in the cafeteria.

However, she noticed that she had been spotted by someone else further down the hallway. Mitsuru Numai was also retrieving something from his locker, but his eyes had been on her as she looked up. He quickly looked away, and she couldn't help but do the same, as if that was the polite thing to do.

Izumi was almost a little worried to be seeing him right now; he always made her feel so light and giddy, like butterflies were fluttering around inside her stomach. And even though she could sometimes get unbearably shy and awkward when around him, she also didn't think she could hold back her strange sense of happiness if he were to speak to her.

As if on que, she could hear footsteps softly approach her. When she looked back up, Mitsuru was standing closer to her, leaving a couple of lockers worth of space between them.  
"Hey," he greeted, giving her a small smile. Oh, his smile was enough to make her heart beat faster. Realistically, she knew the odds of one of her friends showing up were pretty small and she could most likely forget about their stupid resolutions for one second, but she would feel bad lying to them about it. So she forced herself to not sound too excited when she greeted him back.  
"Hello," she said, giving a polite smile, but nothing too inviting. "How was your break?"  
  
Since she was forcing herself to be colder than she usually would never dream of being, for once her voice didn't reveal her nervousness. Still, the new tone didn't go unnoticed; Mitsuru blinked, looking taken back by her lack of energy.  
"It... It was cool, I guess," he said, as if he wasn't quite sure anymore. "How 'bout yers?"  
Although he was still making small talk, he looked uncomfortable in a different way all together from their usual awkwardness.  
  
"It was fine," Izumi replied shortly, hating herself a little. "Nothing really happened."  
Mitsuru nodded, looking more deterred by the second. Izumi wondered if this counted as being mean to an innocent person, which was something Noriko had been smart enough to make sure she wouldn't have to do. Maybe Izumi could plea something similar with her friends?  
"Are ya... sure? Are ya 'kay? Ya seem -" Mitsuru begun, and Izumi shook her head to cut him off.  
"I'm good. Really. Thank you," she told him flatly. It wasn't like she had to fight back any enthusiasm anymore, at least; she pretty much felt like an awful person and had certainly done a wonderful job killing this year's first conversation with her crush.

  
"'Kay... See ya 'round then," Mitsuru finally said, after looking at her for a moment. Izumi wanted to slam her head into her locker. This really wasn't worth it. She'd rather be someone's slave for a month than make him upset.  
"W-Wait," she called out quietly, as he was turning to leave. He stopped, although the uncertain look he threw her made it seem like he didn't really want to.  
"S-Sorry, I meant to say, that... Happy New Year! Again," she stammered, referring to the text she had already sent him during their break. "And... It's nice to see you. Again. This year, too."  
  
Now, that was more like it. She definitely felt more like herself when she could hardly get a coherent sentence out and was making a fool out of herself. Luckily, Mitsuru seemed to prefer this, as he gave her a relieved smile.  
"Yeah? Cool," he replied, hesitating. Although he looked relieved by her change of tone, he still looked like he wasn't quite sure what to say next. Wondering if she should suggest they walk back to the cafeteria together, Izumi didn't have time to say this out loud before Mitsuru continued.  
"'S always good to see ya too," he told her with a small smile. Izumi could feel the warmth return to her body, replacing everything bad she had just felt.

She felt like she probably looked ridiculous now, sporting a wide smile and barely able to look him in the eyes, but at least she felt much better.   
"T-That's good," she said, wishing she had managed to suppress her embarrassing giggle following that statement. Alright, now work like a good human being and ask to walk with him.  
"'M gonna go see the guys outside," Mitsuru said instead. Izumi figured this meant they would smoke behind the school building as they usually did in-between classes. She nodded.  
"Sure, we’ll talk later!" she slipped out, then turning bright red as she processed that.  
  
We'll talk later? Oh lord, what had she just said? Talk later?! It made it sound like she was going to text him or call or actively approach him to have a conversation, all things she sure was terrible at. And why would he even want to waste his time talking to her? He was so cool, and she was just...   
Her thoughts were interrupted again by Mitsuru, giving her a slightly stunned smile.  
"Let's," he agreed. "Let's do that."

As he finally walked off, Izumi wasn't sure what to do with this. The whole conversation, although not long at all, had been enough to completely throw her off. The day was not supposed to go like this.

She was still wearing the same dopey smile as she re-joined her friends in the cafeteria. She had to bite down on her bottom lip not to immediately break and tell them what had happened. Her cheeks were still warm too, and she glanced at all of them with shining eyes.  
Everyone stared at her, waiting for any kind of explanation for her demeanour.  
"I lost," Izumi exclaimed needlessly, letting out an airy laugh. "I'm out!"

"We can see that," Yukie commented with a soft laugh too. "What happened?"  
"Not that we care," Noriko crossed her arms. It was easy to tell by the look in her eyes that she absolutely hated saying this. "You'll probably bore us with it anyway, though?"  
"Heeey, no, I care! Please tell us! Woow, I want to know so bad!" Satomi added, in a tone that should probably be deemed sarcastic, but they were all trying their hardest to give her the benefit of the doubt.

"Oh, I was really excited to tell you guys... But if Noriko finds it so boring, I think I'll drop it," Izumi said dramatically.  
"I do!" Noriko snapped, sending Izumi an apologetic look. Izumi couldn't keep from laughing, as the whole situation was so bizarre.  
"Well, then. Welcome to the losing side, Izu," Haruka sighed, still bitter from before. "Let's just hope whoever wins, won't be too cruel to us."  
"Fingers crossed," Izumi agreed, beaming. She didn't look bothered at all by her loss, but rather just happy to be back to her normal self.

"You did arrive just in time, Izumi. Yuka has just announced she is taking over Yukie's place on the Spring Festival committee. Isn't that so exciting?" Satomi informed her, clapping her hands together in pure joy at this prospect.   
Yukie looked, to put it mildly, less thrilled.  
"Yes, isn't that wonderful?" she agreed, her eye twitching slightly. "I'm sure Yuka will do a splendid job! After all, she knows how much this festival means to me."  
The last part of this sounded slightly like a threat.  
"It will suck," Noriko sighed, wincing.

"Hey, do I have to remind you, this is very serious Yuka Nakagawa doing the planning! So, no pranks or gags or twists of any kind. Just a plain boring festival," Yuka said with conviction. "Hot dog pieces make for great snacks, right? Maybe slices of cucumber?"  
"I'm sure whatever you decide will be lovely," Yukie said quietly through gritted teeth, her hands gripping onto her skirt tightly.   
"She'll join us next," Haruka whispered to Izumi, who had to agree that was probably a safe assumption.

Satomi took this opportunity to give Chisato a bright smile, which immediately alerted all of them.  
"Speaking of the Spring Festival," she hummed. "I think this would just be the perfect time for you to go as Mimura if he wants to hang out with you there, right? You can go to the stands together, maybe he will win you a little bear or something? Oh, it's soo cute and soo romantic, I could just die!"

  
Chisato turned a little paler, as she automatically glanced accross the room and over to the table where Mimura was sitting with his group of friends.  
"Uhm..." she said, feeling all her friend's eyes on her. "I guess... I guess that's what a direct and brave person would do, right?"  
"Yeah and I'm pretty sure that's what you said you would do earlier. When you told me to go over to the jocks?" Haruka reminded her, now out for revenge.   
"She's too chicken," Noriko said, rolling her eyes. "No way she'll do it. She'll drop out too."

Izumi grabbed Chisato's hand under the table. She could feel how it was trembling.  
"Chisato, it will be alright. The worst he can say is no, right? And then you'll know. If you want to back out of this then that's fine, but this might be the only time you feel like you might be able to do something like this," she said with a soft smile, hoping to encourage her. She could feel Chisato give her hand a little squeeze.  
"Okay, yeah, I'll do it. Why? Because I'm not afraid! I can do anything!" Chisato gave herself a little pep talk, which Satomi applaud loudly. Only Noriko shook her head and muttered something about how this would crash and burn, just like Haruka's attempt.

Chisato didn't feel very brave when she got up and on wobbly feet started walking towards Mimura and his friends. Her fight or flight response felt like it was really kicking in as she contemplated taking a sharp turn to the right and just run out of the building. But she was doing it now.

She had caught the boys' attention before reaching their table, and they were all looking up at her when she arrived. At least everyone had a friendly smile on their face; that was a good sign. It almost made her calm down a little.  
"Matsui, what a pleasant surprise," Mimura said in what she thought was a flirtatious tone. Wasn't it? Was she just crazy? "To what do we owe the honour?"  
Chisato felt her throat dry up, and she swallowed a couple of times. But it was definitely too late to run now.

"H-Hey, Mimura-kun," she said lamely. Someone brave probably wouldn't stutter like that, but she couldn't exactly control that. "I wanted to talk to you about something!"  
The rest of the boys looked puzzled now, and she could see Mimura's expression changing too. He looked almost wary of what she had to say.  
"You do?" he asked in a tone difficult to place.  
"Y-Yes!" Chisato nodded.   
"Is this the sort of thing we should leave for?" Nanahara asked, giving the other guys a little nod. "We could go for a walk or something."  
"Yeah, let's take a walk!" Kuninobu agreed quickly. "A walk sounds good right about now!"  
Chisato shook her head, signalling for them to sit back down as a couple of them were about to rise.   
"No, really, I don't mind. Stay!" she insisted. In reality it would be easier to handle the inevitable humiliating more privately, but that wasn't part of her resolution. She had to stick to it.

"I-I was just talking to my friends about the Spring Festival," she began. "Yuka is planning it, so..."  
"Wait, Utsumi isn't planning it this year?" Nanahara asked, sounding surprised.  
"Nakagawa is?" Sugimura added, and now he was the one looking a little concerned. Rightfully so.  
"Man, that will be the best festival ever! It's gonna be crazy. I hope there’s hot dogs," Iijima laughed. It was all getting off-track. Chisato bit her lip softly.  
"It's a long story, but I'm sure it will be great!" she quickly dismissed that subject. "A-Anyway... Mimura-kun, I was wondering... Maybe we could go... together? If you are going. We could go together. Or meet there. Just... hang out or something. Yeah, that's it. Hang out there!"

Despite her slight rambling, Chisato felt weirdly proud she had gotten the words out. The table went quiet, and although she imagined it was a little better than if they had outright laughed at her like some of the jocks did with Haruka, Chisato felt like the mood suddenly got very tense and awkward. The boys were all looking at Shinji, who in turn only glanced quickly at Yutaka. Then he smiled a little.  
"Matsui, that would be cool, but I'm already going with someone," he said slowly. "And I don't wanna bail on an existing date just because someone cuter showed up, you know?"  
  
She felt her heart drop a little but... At least he called her cuter. Cuter than his date.  
"Wait, who are you going with?" Nanahara asked, obviously surprised to hear about this.  
"Yutaka," Shinji replied with a simple shrug. "Asked him months ago."  
Oh, so he was going with his friend? And using that as an excuse not to go with her? Whatever happiness Chisato had felt at being called "cute" quickly disappeared. He could have just said no without making something stupid up!  
"Aw, man! I was gonna go with Yutaka," Iijima chuckled jokingly. "I was too late?"  
"Yes, we're exclusive now. You can stay home," Mimura said coldly, staring at Iijima in such a serious way the other boys all broke out laughing again.  
"What happened to you only dating girls with more than a C-cup? What exactly is Seto hiding under that uniform?" Kuninobi joked too, leading to more laughter.  
"That's _girls._ And you wish you knew, man," Mimura said with a smirk.

The only one who was still paying Chisato any attention, was Yutaka himself.  
He mouthed an apologetic "sorry" to her followed by an awkward smile. Chisato forced herself to smile back at him.  
"W-Well, that's fine. I hope you have fun with your date! And all of you, have fun, with... Yourselves..."  
Chisato pointed to all of them as she began backing away.   
"Thanks for asking though, Matsui. That's really cool of you. Girls don't always do that," Mimura told her before she had a chance to turn around. He looked like he meant it.  
She gave him one last smile before hurrying away from there.

When Chisato returned to her friends, she didn’t have to say anything to make them understand the gist of what had happened. Despite them being too far away to catch any of the actual conversation, the look on Chisato’s face revealed it all.

“Oh, Chisato,” Yukie gasped softly when the smaller girl sat down. “What did he say? He said _no_?”  
Chisato nodded mechanically, her face pale and her body really starting to shake now that she was coming down from the adrenaline rush of it all.

“Y-Yes,” she stammered, leaning in towards the middle of the table so she could whisper to them all. “He’s going with his friends, s-so…”  
“That makes sense, I suppose,” Izumi said, her brows furrowed in light concern for her friend.   
“No, it’s just an excuse,” Chisato sighed, leaning over the table and hiding her face into her folded arms. “He just didn’t want to go with me!”  
  
Everyone exchanged desperate glances, before Noriko put an arm gently around her shoulders and began stroking her hair.  
“I’m so sorry, Chisato,” she whispered. “He would be so lucky to have gone with you. He is missing out, he is!”  
Chisato turned her face a little so she could catch a glimpse of Noriko, giving her a slight smile.  
“Thank you, that’s nice…” she mumbled.

“It _is_ nice, isn’t it?” Satomi agreed, clearing her throat as she spoke up. “Not to be totally heartless but isn’t it _too nice_ for Noriko’s current mission?”  
“Satomi, surely that doesn’t count right now! Chisato is upset!” Noriko argued her case, the others observing her as they thought about it.  
“I think the rules were pretty clear, Noriko,” Haruka finally said, scratching her cheek thoughtfully. “You were supposed to be mean to us for as long as you could…”  
“But in _this_ situation –“ Noriko wanted to try again, but her friends collectively shaking their heads at her made her lose all hope. “Oh, that’s unfair!”  
  


“I’m sorry, Noriko. I made you lose,” Chisato pouted, feeling bad about causing her friend’s downfall. “And I think I’m out too.”  
“Why would you be out? You were so brave! You didn’t do anything wrong,” Yukie insisted, reaching a hand out to place it on Chisato’s arm.  
“Yes, I found you _so_ inspiring,” Satomi chimed in eagerly.  
“Gee, thank you, but I don’t think I can keep it up after this. My poof has completely died out!” Chisato said, though still smiling slightly.  
“And it’s only like the fourth day of the year,” Haruka pointed out. “Congratulations, Yuka. Your game has broken her in record time.”  
  
Yuka shook her head.  
“Don’t blame the game. The game made her push herself and probably learn something valuable, right?”  
“Not at all,” Chisato huffed.  
“Well, anyway,” Yuka continued. “I guess it’s down to me, Sato, and Yukie? We’re in the semi-finals, ladies!”  
The four girls already out, studied the three remaining contestants cautiously.   
“Do you have any plans for what you will do to us if you win?” Noriko asked slowly, looking to prepare herself. “Nothing too bad, right?”  
  
“I’m just looking for someone to do my laundry, chores, cook my meals, bake me cookies, carry my books… Classic slave stuff,” Yuka shrugged. “And maybe dress up as zombies so we can practice my apocalypse survival plan.”  
“Yuka, is that a _joke_?” Satomi asked innocently, clearly on the roll of catching people out in their failures.  
“No?” Yuka replied simply. “I really want to do that!”  
“Well, I for once would need someone to help me carry out the preparations for the Spring Festival!” Yukie said, a spark in her eyes for the first time that day. “Under my strict supervision, of course. It all has to be perfect! And we could organize my folders, and closet, and books… There’s a new organisation system I want to try out, which could end up taking up both weeks.”  
“Right…” Izumi nodded, thinking Yuka’s weird zombie thing might actually be better. She had been right to fear Yukie’s victory.

“I have my plans,” Satomi said cheerfully, smiling brightly to them. It was nothing less of unsettling. “I think it’s better if you don’t know.”

Well, that ominous sentence didn’t make them any more eager to find out.

* * *

Yuka, Yukie and Satomi all surprisingly survived for the rest of the day. That Tuesday, the losing girls started getting more serious about trying to actively make them lose. Izumi and Noriko had fun coming up with ridiculous scenarios for Satomi to force enthusiasm about, like buying a bunch of lollipops for her to eat and immediately giving her a new one whenever she finished and getting her to try to be the loudest cheerleader for the boys during a gym hour handball match. Still, she was a trooper, and her smile never faltered even once. Always determined and hardworking, Satomi was approaching this like she did any other challenge. And she wasn’t going to fail.

Similarity, Chisato and Haruka kept trying to make Yuka laugh. While Chisato focused on classic slap-stick comedy, like stumbling and falling dramatically in the middle of the hallway, Haruka would take any opportunity to point out the slightest sexual innuendo to her, like when their History teacher said they would be prepared to work _long and hard_ in this upcoming semester.  
“If you’re going to make all the jokes for me, it doesn’t make it very challenging,” Yuka told her casually. “Besides, I am way to busy planning this festival to joke around, anyway!”

Yuka’s commitment and never-ending list of suggestions for the festival was the main reason why no one really bothered trying to crack Yukie. She was already on the edge, her eye twitching increasingly each hour of that second day.

The girls would never agree exactly _what_ broke her, but they knew it was somewhere in the middle of a discussion about a game which Yuka called _Ring of Fire_ (involving a ring toss where the rings were indeed on fire), and a duck pond with real life ducks she suggested they could lure in from the park.  
“Stop!” Yukie finally shrieked. “I can’t take this! This is a disaster! Give me your notebook, I’m taking over!”

She didn’t even stay around for them all to point out her obvious loss; instead grabbing Yuka’s notebook of plans and running off to have a serious discussion with Hayashida about the festival’s future.   
“Wow,” Haruka said, as they all watched her run off. “Congratulations, Yuka. You did come up with some pretty crazy stuff.”  
“I loved those ideas,” Yuka sighed, looking genuinely disappointment in this development. “But I’m not surprised this happened.”  
“I’m a little sad we won’t get to see the most adorable duck pond ever,” Izumi agreed, chuckling. “Though the Ring of Fire might be a clever one to drop.”  
“Yeah, one of the Kiriyama Family members would set the school ablaze in no time,” Satomi agreed, before quickly adding in a happier tone. “Which would be fun too, of course!”

After a short discussion of Satomi attempting to convince the others Yuka should lose because her suggestions for the Spring festival had obviously been _jokes_ , and Yuka countering by saying that she was indeed _very serious_ about these suggestions, it was declared that the two of them were in the finale.   
“I’m not sure about Yuka’s zombie thing,” Noriko mumbled as they walked to class together. “It might be better with Satomi in charge.”  
“Well, I’m _very not sure_ about Satomi’s secret plan. Isn’t it better to know what we have in store?” Haruka reasoned, glancing at Satomi, who returned the glance with a bright smile.

The final victory would present itself in an unexpected way. The girls were huddled together outside of their classroom, when Keita Iijima popped up out of nowhere, waving needlessly in their faces.  
“Hey, ya’ll!” he grinned, though his eyes focused on Yuka. “What’s up?”  
“Oh, another boy,” Haruka mumbled, still traumatized from yesterday. Chisato winced a little too, as the memories of asking out Mimura with his friends there were still strong in her memory too. She really could do without seeing any of them up close for a while.

“Just waiting for class! Just like you! How exciting, right?” Satomi beamed.   
“Can we help you with something, Iijima-kun? Do you have any questions about the upcoming festival?” Yukie asked. “The _real_ one, that is.”  
“Kind of,” Keita admitted, scratching the back of his head. “I mean, I heard there was going to be actual ducks and stuff there, but now there’s not? Bummer. Maybe some pigeons can sneak in.”  
“Yes, _thank you_!” Yuka exclaimed, whilst the others exchanged a look. He was an odd one.  
“Anyway, I was gonna ask you, Nakagawa, about hanging out at the festival with me! I was planning on making a throuple with Shinji and Yutaka, but when I told them that, Shinji threw a coke at me. Which, great, free coke, but you know, I can take a hint!” Keita laughed.  
  


“Oh, eeeh,” Yuka scratched her cheek awkwardly, trying to come up with a funny way to reject him without being funny enough to get called out on it.   
“And I think I know how to tempt you! I’ve got some dirt on main pizza guy now, so whenever I order anything, it comes within like twenty seconds!”  
“Just like you!” Yuka responded automatically, laughing. Then realizing her mistake, she covered her mouth with her hands, eyes widening. “Noo!”  
The other’s eyes widened in terror, erupting in shouts of “Yuka! No!” and “Satomi wins now! Why did you do this?!”

Keita looked at the chaos unfold for a moment, trying to get a word in, but eventually giving up.  
“Okay, cool, see you there! Unless you tell me right away you don’t wanna?” he asked, intentionally lowering his voice so Yuka wouldn’t hear him. Not that she would anyway, over the noise her friends were making. Giving a thumbs up mainly intended to himself, Keita mumbled “perfect” and withdrew himself from the madness.

“Yuka! Really! A premature ejaculation joke? Out of all things?” Haruka groaned.   
“He makes it so easy,” Yuka cried, covering her face in shame. “Don’t look at me! Doon’t…”  
“I guess I win!” Satomi exclaimed cheerfully, clapping her hands together as she did a little jump. “Yay me!”  
“You know, you don’t have to do that anymore. You can go back to yourself now,” Yukie pointed out, though sounding amused.  
“It’s really hard to stop,” Satomi sighed in the same high-pitched tone.

“Are you going to reveal our fates now?” Izumi asked carefully, gripping onto Chisato’s arm for support. She wasn’t sure she really wanted to know.   
“No, but I will reveal it tomorrow at 6 AM when we all gather in the library,” Satomi said, her happy smile turning into a more mischievous one. “Bring your calculators and some good pens. And coffee. A lot of coffee. It will be a long day.”

“Is studying all we’re going to do?” Chisato asked, sounding worried enough at this idea.  
“Of course not. It’s where we will begin. The physical labour will be so much worse than the mental one. But the emotional one might be the most difficult of all.”  
“Remind me why we did this whole thing?” Haruka asked through gritted teeth. “Why did we do _Yuka_ ’s idea?”  
“Because _you_ wanted to win!” Yukie reminded her with a chuckle.

“I think we all learned something from this,” Yuka mused, squinting with a put-on serious expression.   
“About how being ourselves is always for the best, and although we can challenge ourselves by pushing our limits at times, in the end, we should really be true to our own character?” Noriko suggested softly, giving her friends a reassuring smile.  
“No! That real duck ponds are much cooler than fake ones, and next time we should collectively try to take Satomi down as a group, no matter the challenge!” Yuka corrected her, making the others laugh.

They couldn’t help but think that maybe the one true lesson was never to accept a challenge from Yuka.


End file.
